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Hydrophis melanosoma GÜNTHER, 1864

IUCN Red List - Hydrophis melanosoma - Data Deficient, DD
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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Black-banded, robust seasnake 
SynonymHydrophis melanosoma GÜNTHER 1864: 367
Distira melanosoma BOULENGER 1896
Hydrophis floweri BOULENGER 1898
Distira wrayi BOULENGER 1900: 307
Hydrophis melanosoma — SMITH 1920: 10
Hydrophis melanosoma — COGGER 1983: 252
Hydrophis melanosoma — WELCH 1994: 67
Hydrophis melanosoma — COGGER 2000: 718
Hydrophis (Mediohydrophis) melanosoma — KHARIN 2004
Mediohydrophis melanosoma — WALLACH et al. 2014: 431
Hydrophis melanosoma — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 265 
DistributionSouth Chinese Sea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia (Borneo), New Guinea,
Australia (Northern Territory?, Queensland, Western Australia?)

Type locality: not known (fide O’SHEA 1996 and COGGER 1983)  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.10.6, from unknown locality.
Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.9.48-51, from Brunei Bay, Borneo [Hydrophis floweri]. 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 531 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy partly after COGGER 1983.

The original description is available online (see link below).

Habitat: marine and freshwater (Rasmussen et al. 2001).

Status: Cogger 2014 says that the status of Australian specimens is uncertain. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Greek melanos (black) plus soma (body), in reference to coloration (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1898. Description of a new sea-snake from Borneo. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1898: 106-107 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1900. Description of new reptiles from Perak, Malay Peninsula. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) 5: 306-308 - get paper here
  • Cadle, John E.;Gorman, George C. 1981. Albumin immunological evidence and the relationships of sea snakes. Journal of Herpetology 15 (3): 329-334 - get paper here
  • Chan-ard, T., Parr, J.W.K. & Nabhitabhata, J. 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of Thailand. Oxford University Press, NY, 352 pp. [see book reviews by Pauwels & Grismer 2015 and Hikida 2015 for corrections] - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 1975. The sea snakes of Australia and New Guinea. pp. 59-139 in Dunson, W. (ed. ) The Biology of Sea Snakes. Baltimore: University Park Press
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • DAVID, Patrick; MEREL J. COX, OLIVIER S. G. PAUWELS, LAWAN CHANHOME AND KUMTHORN THIRAKHUPT 2004. Book Review - When a bookreview is not sufficient to say all: an in-depth analysis of a recent book on the snakes of Thailand, with an updated checklist of the snakes of the Kingdom. The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 4(1): 47-80 - get paper here
  • Eipper T & Eipper S 2024. SNAKES OF AUSTRALIA. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 368 pp. - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1864. The Reptiles of British India. London (Taylor & Francis), xxvii + 452 pp. - get paper here
  • Kharin, V.E. 2004. A review of sea snakes of the genus Hydrophis sensu stricto (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae). [in Russian]. Biologiya Morya (Vladivostok) 30 (6): 447-454 - get paper here
  • Kharin, V.E. 2004. Review of Sea Snakes of the genus Hydrophis sensu stricto (Serpentes: Hydrophiidae). Russian Journal of Marine Biology 30 (6): 387-394 - get paper here
  • McDowell, S. B. 1972. The genera of sea-snakes of the Hydrophis group (Serpentes: Elapidae). Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond 32: 189-247 - get paper here
  • O’Shea,M. 1996. A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea. Independent Publishing, Port Moresby, xii + 239 pp. - get paper here
  • Rasmussen, A. R., M. AULIYA & W. BÖHME 2001. A new species of sea snake genus Hydrophis (Serpentes: Elapidae) from a river in West Kalimantan (Indonesia, Borneo). Herpetologica 57 (1): 23-32 - get paper here
  • Smith, M. A. 1926. Monograph on the Sea Snakes. (Hydrophiidae). London: British Museum, xvii + 130 pp.
  • Smith, M.A. 1920. On sea snakes from the coasts of the Malay peninsula, Siam and Cochin-China. J. Fed. Malay St. Mus. Singapore 10 (1): 1-63 - get paper here
  • Stuebing, R.B. & INGER, R.F. 1999. A field guide to the snakes of Borneo. Natural history Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, 254 pp. [corrections in HR 31: 124]. - get paper here
  • Stuebing, R.B., Inger, R.F. & Lardner, B. 2014. A field guide to the snakes of Borneo, second edition. Natural history Publications (Borneo)
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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